Furnace heat regulator



Nov. 13, 1934. P-. c. TlMM El AL FURNACE HEAT REGULATOR Filed Nov. 15,1933 2 Sheets-Sheet l Fig.1

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FURNACE HEAT REGULATOR a PCTimm 48 W. P.T1rnm Patented Nov. 13, 1934UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FURNACE HEAT REGULATOR Paul G. Timm andWilliam P. Timm, Lincoln, Nebr.

Application November 15, 1933, Serial No. 698,162

9 Claims. (01. 236-16) pipeless furnaces and as semi-pipeless furnaces.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a furnace heatregulator which is sensitively responsive to the movements of expansionand contraction of the furnace itself.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a lever which entersthrough the side of the furnace jacket to contact with the furnace.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a furnace heatregulator having linkage secured to a support, the support being adaptedfor positioning in close proximity to the furnace jacket on the outerside thereof and being adapted to be secured to the ceiling of thebasement and to the furnace jacket or frame.

Another object of the invention is the provision of leverage fortransmitting the movements of expansion and contraction of the furnaceand for greatly amplifying these movements.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an adjustment forthe check valve of the furnace for balancing the leakage of air into thefire box of the furnace.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a furnace heatcontrol which is provided with an adjustment for adjustably regulatingthe heat of the furnace.

Another object of the invention is the provision of an adjustment fortemporarily opening the draft valve of the furnace and including meansfor automatically closing the draft valve at a predetermined expansionof the furnace.

The invention also includes means for temporarily opening the draftvalve of the furnace combined with means for automatically closing thedraft valve and combined further with means for manually closing thedraft valve.

More specifically our invention includes a furnace heat regulator havinga booster trip which may be manually operated from either a remoteposition or a position in proximity to the furnace for the opening ofthe draft valve and combined with an automatic release for the boostertrip, the release being also operable from either a remote position orfrom a position in proximity to the furnace.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a furnace heatcontrol combined with an electrical circuit having a switch which isoperable by the furnace heat control whereby the circuit may be openedor closed through'an' air conditioner, an electrical fan, an indicatoror rheostat or any other electrical device.

Having in view these objects and others which will be pointed out in thefollowing description, we will now refer to the drawings, in whichFigure 1 is a view in side elevation of a furnace, a part being brokenaway, showing the installation of the furnace heat regulator.

Figure 1A is a perspective view of a support of slightly modified form.

Figure 2 is a view in side elevation of a portion of the regulatingmechanism drawn to an enlarged scale and showing the booster trip in itslatched position.

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure 2 but showing the booster trip inits manuallyunlatched position. v v

Figure 4 is a view in end elevation showing the booster trip as it wouldappear when looking from the left at the end of the mechanism shown inFigure 2.

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic representation of that portion of themechanism which may independently operate the electrical switch.

The furnace 10 is provided with the usual furnace jacket 11. The furnaceis provided with openings having castings 12 and 13 for supporting theclosures, the castings having the configuration of the furnace jacket 11and being secured thereto. The closure 14 is the draft valve forcontrolling the inlet of air. The furnace is also provided with afurnace pipe 15 having a check damper 16 secured thereto. It is to astructure as above described to which our invention is attachedregardless of whether the furnace is what is known as pipe furnace,semi-pipeless furnace or pipeless furnace. Such furnaces are installedusually in basements. The floor above is indicated above by the numeral17 and this floor rests on basement joists 18.

The furnace heat regulator includes a support 19 which depends from oneof the joists 18 or from a cleat 20 which is secured to one or more ofthe joists. The support 19 is secured in such position that it is infront of the furnace jacket 11 and in close proximity thereto. Thesupport 19 terminates at its lower end immediately above the upper edgeof the casting 12 and it is secured to the furnace jacket by means of abracket 21 the lower portion of which is against the inner surface ofthe rim of the casting 12 or at any other convenient point below thelever 22. This arrangement provides for the rigid positioning of thesupport 19 relative to both the joists 18 and to the furnace. In caseswhere additional rigidity is required, braces may be secured to thesupport 19 and to the joists 18.

Since diiferent furnace installations vary widely, the support 19 mustbe adjusted in length to each particular installation. This may be doneby cutting off a portion of the support or the support may be made in atelescoping form similar to that shown in Figure 1A. The supportconsists of two members 19a and 19bhaving to the support 19 through oneof the apertures thereof. This lever is positioned on an approximatelevel of the dome of the furnace 10 and it is provided with a downturnedinner end which contacts with the furnace dome. Above the lever 22 aretwo or more levers such as the levers 24 and 25, both pivotally securedtothe support 19 and extending outwardly therefrom. A link 26 connectsthe levers 22 and 24, this link being an expansible and contractiblelink as by means of a turn buckle. A link 27 connects the levers 24 and25, the connection between the lever and link 27 being adjustable bymeans of a plurality of apertures in the link 25. A counterbalancingspring 28 is secured at its ends to the lever 25 and to the support 19or other fixed point, the purpose of the spring 28 being to maintain theinner end of the lever 22 in constant contact with the furnace dome. Themovements of expansion and contraction of the'iurnace will thus becommunicated from the lever 22to the lever 24 and thence to the lever25, the movement in each case being amplified so that the outer end ofthe lever 25 will move through a much greater are than the arc of themovement of the inner end of the lever 22.

.For communicating the movement of the lever 22 to the draft valve 14and. to the check valve 16 we provide a chain or similar mechanism asshown. The lower end of the chain 29 is secured to the draft valve 14 toopen that valve or to permit its closure under its own weight. Securedto the lever 25 is a bracket having lower and upper idler pulleys 30 and31. The outer end of the lever 25 has an arcuate rack 32 securedthereto, this rack cooperating with a pulley 33 concentric therewith.The rack 32 is provided with notches for receiving the pawl 34 of thehandle 35 projecting from the pulley 33. The notches of the rack 32 areshallow in depth and the spring on the axis of the pulley 33 permits theready sliding of the pawl 34 from one notch to another.

The pulley 33 is grooved as shown in Figure 4 andit is provided with atooth 36 for engaging the chain 29 to prevent the sliding. of the chainon the pulley. v

The pulley 38 is secured to one of the joists 18 or to a suitable cleat39. Similarly secured to one of the joists 18 directly above the hingeof the check valve 16 is, another pulley 40 as well as an amplifyinglever 41. The chain 29 is thus trained over the pulley 30, around thepulley 33, under the pulley 31 and over the pulleys 38 and 40, its endbeing secured to the amplifying lever 41 at aposition relatively nearthe pivotal point of that lever. Another chain 42 is securedat its endsto the check valve 16 and to the outer end of the lever 41. The chain 42may be adjusted in length by any suitable meanssuch as the S-link 43.The importance of the adjusting member 43 resides in the fact that thedraft through the valves '14 and 16must be balanced in order to make thefurnace func ion properly. There. is usually. more or less draft throughthe valve 14 even when it is in its closed position and the amount ofthis draft depends to a large extent on the condition of the valve 14.If the valve becomes caked or warped the draft will naturally begreater. The same thing is true of.

ill-fitting joints in the front of the furnace through which air mayleak to the fire. For this reason the draft through the valve 14 is'notconstant. In making the adjustment in the chain 42 the valve 16 iscarried open just sufiiciently to counterbalance the leakage through thevalve'14 or other ill-fitting joints. It will be apparent from the abovedescription that any movement of the furnace dome will be communicatedto the draft valve 14 and to the check valve 16 in greatly amplifiedform. The movements 'of the chain 29 and 42 are directly due to thearcuate movements of the outer extremity of the lever 25. This lever hasa gooseneck at its inner end as shown in Figures 1 and 5 for reducingthe friction in the levers. Moreover, the amplification of the movementof the chain 42 is greater than that of the chain 29.

The construction above described is adapted to regulate the furnace heatwhen the furnace is functioning normally. The parts must of course beproperly adjusted during the installation of our regulator. The distancebetween the joists 18 and the dome of the furnace 10 naturallydetermines the position of the lever 22. This in turn determines thepositions of the levers 24 and 25. The chains 29 and 42 must then begiven the proper lengths and their connections with the lever 41 must besuitably adjusted to the specific installation. The links 26 and 27 mustalso be adjusted to provide for a most suitable movement of the lever25. The adjustments 35 and 43 do not pertain to the installationandthese ad justments are designed for taking care of weather conditionswhich may vary from day to day. The temperature of the living rooms maybe varied by adjusting the lever 35 so that when it becomes desirable tomaintain the temperature at a higher or lower level, the lever 35 may besuitably adjusted. Under normal operation, however, the adjustmentthrough the lever 35 is the only one required and this adjustment isnecessary only when a higher or lower temperature isrequired for theliving rooms according to the condition of the weather. If the grate iskept clear and if the supply of fuel is properly replenished, no furtherattention is required as the chains 29 and 42 will properly adjust thetwo valves to keep the room temperatures sensitively at a constanttemperature.

Sometimes aswhen the fire is slow burning, it is desirable that thetemperature should be raised more rapidly than would be done by thechain 29 in its automatic operation. Sometimes this may be done byproper adjustment of the lever 35-so as to open the valve 14 morewidely. We have also provided a booster trip with automatic operationfor rapidly bringing about a higher furnace temperature, the trip beingautomatically thrown out when the furnace temperature reaches apredetermined point. The trip proper is shown at 44 in Figure 1 and itis shown more in detail in Figures 2, 3 and 4. This trip is slotted at45 and apertured at 46 with a lip 47 immediately above the aperture 46.The trip 44 is secured to a chain 48 which is secured to the chain 29 atan intermediate point thereof as shown in Figure 1. A chain 49 issecured to the trip44 at its upper end and this chain is trained over apulley 50 from which it passes through the floor 17 into the livingroom. The: trip 44 cooperates with a forked lever 51. which is pivotallysecured. at 52. to the lever 25. This lever. is provided with a. tine 53for entering the. aperture 46 to hold: the lever 44in its uppermostposition. When tension is applied toithe chain: 49-the lip 47 ridesover' the tine '53 so that the tine 53 will enter the aperture 46. Bypulling up on the chain 49in the living room, the trip slide 44 is thus:raised until it engages the tine 53' and is releasably latchedin theFigure 2 position. A tension spring 54 is secured to a fixed pointand'to an'intermedi ate point of the chain 49; When the trip 44 is drawninto theFigure 2' position and the grasp on the chain 49 is released,the spring 54 will restorethe free end portion of the chain 49 to itsnormal or inoperative position. A short length of chain 49' is securedto the chain 49 for convenience in raising the trip 44 from a positionnear the furnace. A pull'on the chain. 49"will thus have the same effecton the trip that a pull on the chain 49 will have.

The trip mechanism further includes an idler pulley 55 which is securedto the forked lever 51. A chain 56 is secured at one of its extremitiesto the chain 29 and is trained'underthe pulley- 55. At its upperextremity it is connected to an apertured link 57 which in turn isconnected through a tension spring 58 to a fixed point 59. The-aperturesin the link 57 are numerous so as to provide a fine adjustment for theeffective length of the chain 56. The chain 56 continues beyond the link57 and terminates at a convenient position such as one of the livingrooms as shown in Figure I. The link 57 is shown merely as a link in thechain 56. The tension spring 60 is secured at one end to the chain 56and at its opposite extremity to the fixed point 59, its function beingto maintain the free portion of the chain 56 under tension and torestore the chain to its idle position when the tension on its outer endportion is released.

The operation-of the booster trip will be evident from an inspection ofFigures 2 and 3. The trip slide is lifted from the Figure 3 position tothe Figure 2 position by drawing on the outer end of the chain 49 or thefree end of the chain 49'. The grasp on the chain is released as soon-asthe trip is in its Figure 2 position. At this time the draft valve 14 iswide open. As the furnace warms up the outer extremity of the lever 25is gradually depressed and the forked lever 51 is moved through an arcbecause of the action of the chain 56 on the idle pulley 55 pullingagainst the weights 51a. At a certain point in the movement of theforked lever 51, the tine 53 will release the booster trip 44 and thuspermit the closing of the draft door 14 under its own weight. Should thetemperature in the living room rise more rapidly than anticipated, apull on the chain 56 will raise the pulley 55 to swing the forked lever51 and to thus release the booster trip 44 as shown in Figure 3. Shouldthe chain 49 in the living room be raised accidentally to latch thebooster trip 44, the parts may be restored to their idle position beforethe increase in the draft has raised the temperature of the living room.

The adjustment through the lever 35 on the dial 32 results in a movementof the chain 29 similar to that resulting from the movement of the lever25. It acts on both the draft valve 14 and the check valve 16. Theadjustment is more or less permanent since it is seldom necessary'tomove'the lever 35 except during changes in the weather. It should benoted, however, that the adjustment through the. lever '35 affectsnot'only the chain:29"but also the chain556: Inthe. position ofthet-lever'3fia showmin Figure 2, the1fork5-1 is: in substantiallyhorizontalaposition: sothat the lever 25-mus't movethrough almc'stitsmaximum are; before the." trip slide can be released. The oppositeextreme" position of'the fork lever 51 is shownin Figure 3 in. which:the..tine- 53 is tilted at' an. anglesuch that. it cannot" retainxthetrip slide. It will be apparent from our drawings that the. fork lever51: may be adjusted'iinto any desired: position between the: twoextreme-positions shown-in Figures2and3 in order to release the tripslide upon movement of. the. lever 25 through any desired. are withinthe. range: of the connections; The: adjustment is effected by'means: ofthe lever. 35- and by means of the link 57. The: adjustmentniay be madeso that the 'boosteritrip will'aut'omatically release whenever thefurnace is heated past any predetermined. point as: indicated by. thedial setting. of the" lever 35, the distance being governed by theadjustable. link" 5'7.

It will thusbesseenthat the boosterrprovides a manual control foraccelerating a slow burning fire, combined with an. automatic release toprevent the rise in" temperature. above a predetermined point. Theautomatic release: is adjustable in accordance with .theparticular. installation as well: as with varying weather con.- ditions' and othervarying factors. When" the booster is combined with: anautomatic controlof thecheck and draft valves as inzthe. present instance, it causes: a.rapid. increase in: temperature up to a predetermined .point and. then.shuts off to permit the automatic operation. of "the connections betweenthe: check: and: draft valves-of the furnace. The booster mechanismwith. its automatic shutoffmay inv fact beused alone foraccelerating-the risein temperature. It is also obvious that the booster"mechanism may be used with. other types of heating plants such as oilor gas burning furnaces orelectric stovesinwhich anoccasionalacceleration of-v heat-isrequired. We therefore wish it: to beunderstood that the terms in theappended. claims are. designed toinclude all mechanical equivalents-tobe found in: heating plants of?types: other than? the coal burning furnace which-we describe.

The lever 25 maybe used for opening and closing electricalcircuitsdepending on thetemperature'of thefurnace regardlessof whetheror not the connections for operating the furnace valves are employed. InFigures 1' and Ms shown conventionally an air conditioner 61 to beautomatically setsinto: operation. when the temperature reaches apredetermined minimum; The source of power is shown at 62 and this mostcommonly isthesocket. for the connection-to the power or light system ofthe house. v i

In the construction shownv in Figures 1 and 5, two circuits are shown,one through the air'conditioner 61v andanother through an indicator 63which may be a bellor a light or any other suitable. indicator or any.other electrical device. A lever 64 of conducting material is insertedin the circuit for contactwith the'two points 65 and 66 set forpredetermined maximum and: minimum temperatures respectively. The lever64 is balanced. in neutral position by means of the springs 67and-68.The spring67 is connected to the lever 25 through a. linkJ69 having aturnbuckle at its extremity for: adjustment-of the lever'64'relative tothe twocontact poi nts. If the heat of the furnace increases the outerend of the lever 25 will be'depressed tobring the lever 64 into contactwith .the point -65 to close the circuit'throu'gh the air conditioner.61. If the fire in the furnace becomes so low that it needs atten tionfor replenishing the fuel, the lever 64 will move upwardly and atapredetermin'ed temperature it will come into contact with the point 66.This establishes the circuit through the indicator 63 to givewarningfthat the furnace needs attention. I

Y A slight modification of the electric switch is shown in Figures2 and3 which employs a mercury switch 64 pivotally secured at some fixedpoint. This switch is balanced by means of the two counterbalancingsprings 67' and 68', the spring 67' being connected to the lever 25through the link 69'. This switch is an on and off switch for directingthe current through a single device such as air conditioneror anindicator or any other electrically operated device. Having thusdescribed our invention in such full, clear,'and exact terms that itsconstruction and operation will be readily understood by other skilledin the art to which it pertains, what we claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A furnace attachment including a substantially horizontal leverhaving a pivot outside the furnace .jacket and in. proximity thereto,said lever passing through a vertical wall of the furnace' jacket andhaving its inner extremity in contact with the furnace forlevermovements in response to the movements of expansion and contraction ofthe furnace, means operable by said lever for opening andclosing thedraft valve and the check valve ofthe furnace in response to theexpansionand contraction movements of the fur nace, a remote control formanually opening the draft valve of the furnace, and means automaticallyoperable to close the draft valve of the furnace at a predeterminedfurnace temperature.

2. A furnace attachmentincluding a substantially horizontal lever havinga pivot outside the furnace jacket and in proximity thereto, said leverpassing through a vertical wall of the'furnace jacket and contactingwith the furnace to respond to the movements'of expansion andcontraction thereof, a second lever and amplifying connections betweensaid two levers, flexible connections from said second lever to thedraft and check valves of the furnace for the opening and closingthereof in response to the expansion and contraction of'the furnace, abooster trip slide manually operable for opening the draft valve of thefurnace, means on said second lever for latching said slide to hold thefurnace draft valve in open position, said means being automaticallyoperable by the movementof said second-lever for releasing said sliderat'a. predetermined furnace temperature. l

3. A furnace attachment including a lever operable by the movements ofexpansion and contraction of the furnace, a flexiblemember secured atits ends to the draft valve and'the check valve of the furnace andadjustably secured at an intermediate point thereof 'tosaid lever, amanually operable slide for connection with the draft valve of thefurnace, a trip lever pivotally secured to said first named lever andadapted to engage said slide'to maintain the-furnace draft valve in openposition-and means automatically operable'by the movement of said firstnamed lever for the pivotal movement of the; said trip lever to releasesaid slide at a predetermined furnace temperature. I

4. A furnace attachment including'a lever responsive to the movements ofexpansion and contraction of the. furnace, a pulley at the outerextremity .of said lever, means between the said pulley and said leverfor releasably latching said pulley in adjusted position, a chainpassing over said pulley and secured at its extremities to the draftvalve and the check valve of the furnace, amanually operable flexibleconnection to the draft valve of the furnace and including ,a slide, atrip lever pivotally secured to said firstnamed lever and adapted toengage said slide for maintaining the furnace draft valve in openposition, and means on said chain for tilting said trip lever and tothus release said slide and to permit the furnace draft valve to assumeits closed position.

I 5. A furnace attachment including a lever responsive to the movementsof expansion and contraction of the furnace, means for transmitting inamplified form the movements of said lever to the draft valve and thecheckvalve of the furnace, a manually operable slide connected to thedraft valve of the furnace, a trip lever pivotally secured to said firstnamed lever, means on said trip lever for releasably engaging said slidefor holding the furnace draft door in open position,

and means operable by said first named lever for tilting said trip leverto release said slide and to thereby permit the closing of the draftvalve at a predetermined temperature of the furnace.

6. A furnace attachment including a lever responsive to the movements ofexpansion and contraction of the furnace, a pulley at the outerextremity of said lever, means for holding said pulley in adjustedposition against rotation on its axis, a chain secured at itsextremities to the draft valve and the check valve of the furnace andsecured at an intermediate point thereof to said pulley, a slide havinga flexible connection to the draft valve of the furnace, a trip leverpivotally secured to the said first named lever'and having means forengaging said slide for maintaining the furnace draft valve in openposition, a second chain actuated by the said first named chain fortilting the said trip lever on its pivot in response to the movement ofthe first said lever, to thereby release said slide and to thus permitthe closing of the furnace draft valve when the furnace reaches apredetermined temperature, said second chain being adjustable in lengthfor governing the degree of the arcuate movement of said trip lever.

"7. A furnace attachment including a lever operable by the movements ofexpansion and contraction of the furnace, a slide on said lever, aconnection between said slide and the draft valve of the furnace wherebythe lifting of said slide relatively to said lever will lift the furnacedraft valve to open position, a latch on said lever for releasablyholding said slide in lifted position, and means for automaticallyreleasing said latch at a predetermined position of said lever.

8. A furnace attachment including a lever operable by the movements ofexpansion and contraction of the furnace, a slide on said lever, aconnection between said slide and the draft valve of the furnace wherebythe lifting of said slide will lift the furnace draft valve to openposition, a pivoted latch on saidlever for releasably holding said slidein lifted position, and tension means operable by said lever fortripping said latch to release said slide at a predetermined furnacetemperature. I

9. A furnace attachment including a lever having one; of its ends incontact with thefurnace for lever movements in response to the movementsof expansion and contractions of the furnace,

the furnace, and means automatically operable to close the draft valveof the furnace at a, predetermined furnace temperature.

PAUL C. TIMM. WILLIAM P. TIMM.

